It’s best to begin this post by noting that 81 percent of the United States believe this country is headed toward a bleak future. Only a third of people believe that the next generation will be better off than the current generation. Fewer than half of parents — 46 percent — expect their children to enjoy a better standard of living than they themselves do. The other day, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, whose job requires a basic sixth grade knowledge of stubbornness, finally acknowledged the possibility of a recession.

And it looks like some politicians in Washington are continuing to poorly execute what are otherwise decent ideas. Today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid sent a letter to President Bush calling for an end to the Iraq War. Of course, it’s a futile to assume that after all of his unwillingness to end the war, Bush will finally cave in this time. And it must be noted that Pelosi and Reid’s letter calls for refocusing on (or escalating) the War in Afghanistan. But that’s why we elected Democrats in ’06, right?

In local news, the State House and Senate approved a $925 million state bonding bill. Much of this money would go to the state’s public universities, the Central Corridor light rail (with $4 million to study the idea of rail that goes all the way to Chicago), an anti-terrorism center at Camp Ripley and Como Zoo renovations of their bear and gorilla exhibits (some Republicans refer to that last part of the bill as “money for gorilla cages”). Since state economist Tom (Tommy?) Stinson recommended that the bonding bill be no larger than $825 million, many are expecting a possible veto, or at least line-item veto, from Gov. Tim Pawlenty. But in truth no one really knows how he’ll handle this one, since he completely vetoed a similar bill last year. He’s got until Monday to decide.

DFLers aren’t waiting in silence. Rep. Tom Rukavina (DFL – Virginia), my favorite obstinate Iron Range politician, took the opportunity to direct some shots at Pawlenty:

“It’s hard to negotiate with a ghost. The governor thinks there are three branches of government and they are ‘me, myself and I.’”

Meanwhile, our old friend Jesse Ventura appeared on Larry King and called for a revolution against the “Democratic and Republican dictatorship that’s going on in this country.” He even compared the two parties to street gangs, calling them the “Demo-crips” and “Re-blood-licans.” The ironic thing is that at best, Jesse delayed this revolution and at worst, prevented it from ever happening. Which is really too bad.

Tags: House and Senate DFL, Jesse Ventura, state bonding bill, Tim Pawlenty